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My EPM horse "recovered", strictly speaking, but long term unsteadiness led to a fall that led to euthanasia.

If possums had any redeeming qualities other than members of the dood chain I'd feel differently, as I'm not a hard-hearted person. But they are not welcome on my farm and I will kill them given the opportunity.

Thanks for everyone's input. I went to the spot where I deposited the possum and found that he was not playing possum at all but had passed away. So, I guess he is really gone for good! I raked up all the loose hay he was laying in and inspect all my bales (thankfully, I need to get hay this weekend so there was not much) and did not find anywhere he went to the restroom. While I am sure I have possums on my property, I have not had one visable before. I am going to dispose of the raked hay well away from the horses so there will not be any risk.

For those of you that had horses with EPM, did they all recover?

No, it was a boarder's horse, he was only pasture sound after the first incidence and had to be euthanized after his relapse. It was horrible to watch his decline. When he had to be propped up against the wall for the farrier to trim him it was time. It was heartbreaking.

As the owner of an EPM horse (my heart horse) that is not responding to Marquis, I find myself hating possums. Actually, I ran over one as I was leaving the barn the other night about 200 yards from the property - and I didn't feel bad for it. Had I seen it sooner, I probably would've tried to hit it, I hate them that much.

Possums are rodents if they are in your barn. Sad but you kill rodents, I mean, there really isn't any use to them being in or around your barn. Just the same for coons, mice, and rats. If they are eating your horses food, they aren't really in their 'natural' habitat and a danger to your horses' health.

I purchased a 4y/o OTTB last summer with the hopes of doing UL one day, and boy was he talented! Unfortunately after a month of owning him he began to act strange. After an emergency trip to the clinic and days on medication I had to put him down. The EPM infection hit him so hard the vets said their was no way he would pull through.

It was an awful experience but I am certainly now more educated on the topic than i was before. My vet said 60% of all horses have been exposed to the protozoa at some point in their lives but not all react. In fact it can lay dormant in them until a major event triggers it, such as change of ownership/stables like my guy.

My guy's case was definitely a severe one, a lot of horses can recover and still live normal lives with EPM. They say some can even make a full recovery.... I have to admit I am skeptical about that though....

Has anyone had a horse make a FULL recovery from EPM? That doesn't still require medication or any form of regular treatment?

If possums had any redeeming qualities other than members of the dood chain I'd feel differently, as I'm not a hard-hearted person.

What makes you feel that they don't have any redeeming qualities?

Other than horse owners, most people have no issues with opossums. They do fill a niche in the food chain, but unfortunately are linked with EPM. Probably the best thing a barn owner can do is to discourage them from coming around; which definitely means not feeding cats and not dumping grain outside/into manure piles. But I still wouldn't be surprised to find that most of us have possums and other rodents around and passing through all the time.

Other than horse owners, most people have no issues with opossums. They do fill a niche in the food chain, but unfortunately are linked with EPM. Probably the best thing a barn owner can do is to discourage them from coming around; which definitely means not feeding cats and not dumping grain outside/into manure piles. But I still wouldn't be surprised to find that most of us have possums and other rodents around and passing through all the time.

I agree with this. Simply because a creature doesn't fit in with YOUR existence, doesn't automatically make it unworthy of life.

I live in quite a rural spot. Do we have possums about? Sure. Do we have a lot of them, or more than our fair share? I doubt it. All of my cats are indoor pets, so there's never any cat food out & about. And while my hay is kept out in the barn, all grain products, supplements, etc., are kept in the house. Thus, there's absolutely nothing tempting out in my barn or on the grounds to incite any sort of possum invasion. I'm sure there must be some that wander thru during the nighttime hours, but that's true everywhere.

Personal opinion. I feel the same about cigarettes. Doesn't mean people don't have the right to feel differently and choose to smoke.

I am not assigned the duty of deciding who is "unworthy of life" in general. But I do have that privilege on my property, where other things impact the lives of the beings I care about. Part of being on the top of the dood chain.

Yup, I get it. I am responsible for my horses, my child, my pets, my property, and lots of other things. That responsibility in my view includes making unpleasant decisions sometimes, like shooting on sight a varmint that might sicken or kill one of my horses. More up side than down side, IMO. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, and coyotes would be treated the same if they come close enough to threaten a creature for which I am responsible.

Anyone is more than welcome to judge these types of decisions in their own personal "risk vs. benefit" calculus. I can live with mine.

Possums are a tough case because of the EPM problem, but I hear what Bacardi is saying. I live on a wildlife management property and am surrounded by people who move out here professing to "love the country". They then proceed to populate the area with their loose dogs, cats, chickens, goats, and other animals that either predators (destroying wildlife) or are preyed upon (causing the people to kill wildlife).

These same people spread their catfood and don't cover their garbage, inviting the wildlife. I think in the case of possums, the least people can do is make sure they are not leaving out cat food and garbage.

It is so sickenly absurd here. People get goats (for an archaic tax exemption) which are not even good for the soil, grasses and trees. Then they kill the coyotes because they think the coyotes are after their goats (probably more likely loose dogs). With snares. So now we loose a natural possum predator, in the cruelest of killing methods.

We had one possum a few weeks ago that was getting closer and closer to the barn and I found him at the front door one day. Done deal. Hubby got the gun out and put him to sleep permanently and he got dumped in the manure pile out back, covered up and left to decompose

Sorry - my property, my taxes, my decision. Dont want it or any of his friends or relatives anywhere near the animals that I make my living from

We had one possum a few weeks ago that was getting closer and closer to the barn and I found him at the front door one day. Done deal. Hubby got the gun out and put him to sleep permanently and he got dumped in the manure pile out back, covered up and left to decompose

Sorry - my property, my taxes, my decision. Dont want it or any of his friends or relatives anywhere near the animals that I make my living from

It was a very easy decision to make

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For those who feel wild animals (possums) have equal rights to our horses...they are called "wild animals for a reason. I do not go hunting to find and kill any animals, but when they leave their wild homes and come into my barns and risk the health of my animals...they are eliminated!! No one asked them to invade my property...we live in rural Ok with thousands of acres to hunt and scrounge on. I put the well being of my animals ahead of any wild invader!! Does the happiness of a possum equal the happiness and value of my favorite horses??? Nope!!!

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For those who feel wild animals (possums) have equal rights to our horses...they are called "wild animals for a reason. I do not go hunting to find and kill any animals, but when they leave their wild homes and come into my barns and risk the health of my animals...they are eliminated!! No one asked them to invade my property...we live in rural Ok with thousands of acres to hunt and scrounge on. I put the well being of my animals ahead of any wild invader!! Does the happiness of a possum equal the happiness and value of my favorite horses??? Nope!!!

I'm pretty sure his family was living on "your" property for hundreds of years before you got there. LOL.

I am an animal lover by nature, certainly not a hunter, and before the vector animal for EPM was identified, I once raised a litter of possum kits.

I trapped and relocated groundhogs until research revealed I wasn't doing them any favors and that they were probably finding their way back home.

Nuisance raccoons were trapped and relocated until I found that I could be ticketed and fined for doing so, as I was pretty much making my problem someone else's problem. Tighter control over cat food and trash solved the nuisance coon problem, much to my relief.

Possums do not get the same consideration, the risk/benefit doesn't work for me. I will kill a possum for the same reason I would kill a copperhead near the house, a black widow spider in the house or a rat in the barn - the potential havoc they can wreak far, far outweighs any other considerations. The same rat, copperhead, black widow or possum that I encounter on some else's property and/or miles from home can exist unmolested by me; close to me and mine, no.

If we take the argument that we're intruding on the animals's property and safety, rather than the other way around, and reduce the argument to its absurd end, we would neither have horses (not native to North America) or acres of lovely cleared savannah for them to graze on, and we certainly wouldn't impose on them by, you know, RIDING them.

As for me and my house, we'll shoot possums around the barn and horses and leave the rest alone. Leaving them alive after they've shown a liking for the barn and farm just isn't worth the risk to me. If you chose differently, that's fine, and I do not judge you for it. Perhaps you could extend me the same courtesy?

BTW, I have seen 3 EPM cases, all pretty horrible. One was a very talented horse with a bright future who never competed again after the diagnosis.